Ted Nugent Joins Roseanne Flap: ‘Lying Dishonest Soulless Freaks’

ABC's sudden decision to cancel its most popular TV show, Roseanne, following star Roseanne Barr's racist tweet from earlier today has been met with widespread support from the entertainment industry. But not from Ted Nugent.

Barr drew heavy criticism for responding to a tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a former top aide to President Obama. "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj," she wrote. Although she soon apologized "for making a bad joke" about Jarrett's "politics and her looks," ABC almost immediately canceled Roseanne. The long-running series had returned after an 21-year absence in March and quickly became the highest-rated and most-watched series of the broadcast season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey. Many of Barr's peers quickly weighed in with their own condemnations of the star's actions, with longtime co-star Sara Gilbert saying Barr's words "do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show."

Nugent, no stranger to controversial statements and stances, took a different approach. "So Roseanne referencing a movie title is racist," he tweeted with seeming incredulity before going on to reference the Planet of the Apes half of Barr's offending tweet. "Lying dishonest soulless freaks from Planet of the Apes."

Even though Nugent vowed to stop engaging in "hateful rhetoric" last June, this past March he said the survivors of February's mass murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. -- who reacted to their ordeal by leading a national campaign in support of stricter gun-control laws -- were "mushy-brained" and "soulless."

"They are actually committing spiritual suicide, because everything they recommend will cause more death and mayhem, guaranteed," he wrote. "The level of ignorance goes beyond stupidity."